The present invention relates generally to sporting goods equipment, and more particularly, to measuring apparatuses for forming either a basketball court or street hockey rink upon a playing surface.
For the past several years, the sports of basketball and street hockey have grown tremendously in popularity and provide excellent means for developing physical endurance and athletic skill. Partially responsible for this rise in popularity is the widespread availability of portable basketball backboard and hoop sets and hockey goal nets, which enable such sports be played virtually on any street, parking lot or other generally flat playing surface.
In order to play such sports in this context, however, it is necessary that the boundaries and other indicia of the courts and rinks upon which the same are played be clearly identified. Otherwise, the players playing such sport will have no clear demarcation as to what is and what is not xe2x80x9cout of boundsxe2x80x9d. Indeed, disputes among players can and do frequently arise over whether a player, ball or puck is xe2x80x9cinxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9coutxe2x80x9d, which can thus cause great hostility and unsportsmanlike behavior. As a consequence, the fun and excitement of the game is ruined.
This need for clearly identified court boundaries is especially necessary in basketball where not only is there a need to identify the peripheral boundaries of the court, which can affect which team is given possession of the ball, but also to identify other key locations on the court, such as the freethrow line and three-point line, which can affect the scoring of the game. Additionally, such clearly identified boundaries and areas are necessary to enable players to properly practice shooting freethrows and three-point shots as the distance from where the shot is made to the basketball hoop is the controlling factor for each such respective shot. Indeed, this need is especially compelling in light of the proliferation of portable backboard sets sold during the past few years that lack the boundaries to properly use them.
The sport of street hockey likewise necessitates that the borders and other indicia of the rink within which the sport is played be clearly defined. In this regard, the sport of street hockey, as with conventional ice hockey, incorporates the use of face-off circles selectively positioned within the rink, as well as indicia defining an attacking zone, neutral zone, and defending zone. Such sport further requires the accurate placement of the goals into which players of opposing teams xe2x80x9cshootxe2x80x9d the puck.
To properly mark the boundaries of a given court or rink, however, is time consuming and requires considerable effort. In this regard, the respective boundaries of either court or rink must first be accurately measured and thereafter clearly indicated on the playing surface. The latter task is especially problematic as each boundary or other indicia must be accurately made on the playing surface, as with chalk or paint for example. Moreover, due to the fact that the sports of basketball and street hockey are typically played with portable equipment (i.e., portable basketball backboard sets and street hockey goal nets), the task of having to mark such boundaries must often be repeated as such portable equipment is moved from location to location. In these instances, the boundaries of a given court or rink must be determined and continuously redetermined based upon where such portable backboard/goal net is positioned.
Accordingly, there is a need for a measuring apparatus that can quickly, easily and accurately provide an indication as to where the various boundaries and other indicia of a basketball, court or street hockey rink are properly located in relation to a given basketball backboard or hockey goal net used therewith. There is further a need for such a measuring apparatus that is of simple construction, and may be easily and readily utilized with virtually all types of portable basketball backboard sets and/or street hockey goal net apparatuses.
The present invention specifically addresses and alleviates the aforementioned deficiencies in the art. Specifically, the present invention comprises a measuring apparatus attachable to or formed as an integral part of either a portable basketball backboard and hoop set or a street hockey goal net for forming, respectively, a standardized basketball court or street hockey rink upon a planar playing surface. In a preferred embodiment, the measuring apparatus comprises an elongate measuring strip having a plurality of indicators spaced therealong to indicate the appropriate placement and position of the respective boundaries and indicia a given court or rink. The elongate measuring strip is contained within a casing or housing, preferably in a spool-like configuration as per conventional measuring tape devices, such that a respective opposed end remains anchored within the casing while the respective other opposed end may be manually withdrawn therefrom, via an opening formed on the casing, and pulled over the playing surface to thus indicate the proper placement of the various boundaries/indicia of the court or rink. To enable the elongate measuring strip to measure out and indicate the appropriate placement of court boundaries/indicia at angles relative to or behind the basketball backboard/hoop and/or street hockey goal net, the casing holding the elongate measuring strip may have one or more joints formed thereon to enable the strip to assume angled configurations, and in particular, right angles. Additionally, the elongate measuring strip may be pivotally mounted upon the basketball backboard/hoop and/or street hockey goal net to further enable the device to properly indicate the placement of various court or rink boundaries and/or indicia.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a measuring apparatus that can quickly, easily and accurately indicate the correct position and placement of the respective boundaries of either a basketball court or street hockey rink upon a planar playing surface.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a measuring apparatus for indicating the correct position of the respective boundaries of either a basketball court or a street hockey rink upon a planar playing surface that can accurately provide such indication relative to a respective portable basketball backboard/hoop set or street hockey goal net.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a measuring apparatus for indicating the correct position and placement of the respective boundaries and indicia of either a basketball court or a street hockey rink that is of simple construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and may be used in combination with conventional sporting goods equipment.